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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24910795">Quantum Entanglement</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aMUSEment345/pseuds/aMUSEment345'>aMUSEment345</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Criminal Minds (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drama, Friendship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:49:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,399</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24910795</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aMUSEment345/pseuds/aMUSEment345</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place five years after the series finale.  "Quantum entanglement occurs when two particles become inextricably linked, and whatever happens to one immediately affects the other, regardless of how far apart they are."<br/>                                                                                                            Fiona MacDonald in Science Alert, July 2019</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="xcontrast">
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>A.N. This story takes place five years after the series finale. Before anyone asks-Max will appear, but since this is not a story about her, she will be a peripheral figure. The TV version is still more of an appeasement than a fleshed out character to me. Even Maeve had more of a chance to evolve! Maybe, if we get 'CM, the Movie', things will change. But, for now, it's back to business as per (my) usual. If you continue to read, you have been forewarned.</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <hr/>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Quantum Entanglement</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>"<em>Quantum entanglement occurs when two particles become inextricably linked, and whatever happens to one immediately affects the other, regardless of how far apart they are."</em></p>
      <p>
        <em>Fiona MacDonald in Science Alert, July 2019</em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Chapter 1</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>"I don't understand what it is you think I can do for you."</p>
      <p>Spencer Reid may have held degrees in chemistry, mathematics and engineering, but while he had an avid interest in astrophysics, and had read extensively on the subject, he hardly considered himself an expert in that field. Surely they weren't asking him to determine the significance of the new signals being picked up by the radio telescope array.</p>
      <p>"We want you to profile, Dr. Reid. Of course."</p>
      <p>The words had been spoken by Reid's least favorite person in the room, each of them laden with contempt. As the recently appointed Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Robert Creedy was apparently not a fan of the concept of the joint task force, and rumor had it that he was especially not a fan of 'having the FBI in our business'.</p>
      <p>
        <em>He's the fourth Secretary of DHS since I've been consulting for them, and I think he just might be the least qualified and most controlling.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Reid much preferred working with the head of the Science and Technology directorate within the department. Timothy Leary had withstood each of the politically-appointed changes at the top, and seemed to be a focused, respectful and respected individual whose scientific integrity was beyond question. He and Reid had formed a productive working relationship back in the days of the pandemic, and, until this new task force had been invaded by the Secretary, they'd hoped to do the same again. The two men exchanged a quick glance before Reid responded to Creedy.</p>
      <p>"I still don't understand. What is it that you want me to profile?"</p>
      <p>Leary responded this time.</p>
      <p>"We need to know if there's intelligence behind it. We want you to tell us if it has a behavior."</p>
      <p>"But we're not even sure there's language there. We don't know if it's even an attempt at communication."</p>
      <p>Leary conceded it. "I know. And we'll have linguists working on it, too. We'll pass on whatever they come up with. But …well, you've got some linguistic expertise too, don't you? We're hoping you might be able to recognize a pattern."</p>
      <p>Reid shook his head. "Not better than a computer can."</p>
      <p>"But a computer can only look for signs of language. It can't tell us about behavior."</p>
      <p>Creedy reentered the conversation. "Yes, for instance, it can't tell us if there are human behaviors behind this. Maybe these signals aren't coming from outer space at all. Maybe they're man made. You should be able to profile that, shouldn't you, Dr. Reid?"</p>
      <p>Reid looked from Creedy to Leary again, while the others around the table looked anywhere and everywhere else. They were all too familiar with their new secretary's interest in downplaying the need for the work of his own department, and angry at his blatant disrespect for their efforts and accomplishments. But none of them were positioned to do anything to stop it.</p>
      <p>Leary explained what Reid was beginning to suspect.</p>
      <p>"The administration believes this to be the work of a foreign power…..an <em>earthly </em>foreign power, made to look like an interstellar phenomenon."</p>
      <p>Reid's eyes narrowed in disbelief. Not only would It be nearly impossible, but…</p>
      <p>"To what end?"</p>
      <p>Creedy answered him.</p>
      <p>"To entice us to ruin our economy with some Quixotic quest to communicate with little green men. And, judging from the discussion I've heard around this table, they just might succeed. Unless, Dr. Reid, you find that these pulsations are not an attempt to communicate. Then we can all get back to business as usual."</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Reid ruminated all the way home, partially about the task at hand, but also about the idea of being used as a tool by Creedy to dismiss what might well turn out to be one of the most significant discoveries ever made by humankind.</p>
      <p>He'd had such mixed experiences working in consultation to DHS, some very productive and some, not. But nothing had ever held such potential for being maddening as this. It caused him to question the wisdom of having gotten involved with the Department at all, despite the headiness of the possibilities. Because it seemed Creedy had already determined those possibilities to be impossible.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe I should never have left the BAU. At least I was able to actually accomplish something there. Or maybe I should just forget about government service altogether, and teach full time.</em>
      </p>
      <p>He'd certainly considered it before. In his reflective moments, he'd realized he'd been teaching for most of his life. As a boy, he'd tutored his classmates in the hope of making a friend, or short-circuiting an enemy. He'd taught a host of LEOs every time he'd delivered a profile. He'd often taught his teammates with one of his eponymed 'Reid's Rambles', whenever he'd found some aspect of a case particularly fascinating. As awkward as he might have felt back then, as a youthful 'professor', he knew he was good at it.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe I should do it. There's nothing really holding me here. Maybe I should think about taking Alex up on her invitation for me to teach with her in Boston. I could do it part time, unless…</em>
      </p>
      <p>Unless. Unless his life circumstance should change in the most wistfully anticipated way. Unless that thing that he'd spent so much of his adulthood yearning for, should come to pass. But it hadn't, not for the past five years, and time was beginning to run out.</p>
      <p>He'd been a few years older than Max when they'd met, but only a few. On his good days, he'd felt young, and free, and excited. On his bad days….the ones when all of the accumulated angst of his life had intruded upon them….he'd felt ancient, and he'd been sorry to bring that into her life. But she'd been understanding, and supportive and, apparently, she'd found a way to love him in spite of his faults. But she hadn't found a way to conceive, and they'd both been in mourning about the life that hadn't come into theirs.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe it would be a good distraction. There are parts of her job she could do remotely. Maybe we could divide our time between DC and Boston. Or she could become a liaison between the Smithsonian and the museums in the northeast.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Which she had been, for a while. She'd been traveling between Washington and New York in the early days of their relationship, and he'd been traveling whenever and wherever evil had raised its murderous head. It had turned out that the periods of distance, interspersed with the periods of intimacy, had suited both of them well. Max was much less of a loner than Reid, but she'd been living independently for a long while before their serendipitous meeting in a park, and she liked the freedom of not having to accommodate to someone else's habits. Which was why, though they'd been together for five years, they each maintained their own living spaces, even though one of those spaces was often empty in the overnight.</p>
      <p>Nor had they made the decision to marry. Or, maybe it was more accurate to say that Max had made it clear that the institution wasn't something she believed was necessary, and she'd done so often enough that Reid had taken it as a message not to ask. So he had not. And he would not. Unless….</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe, if we had a child. Maybe she'd feel differently about making a formal commitment.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Not that they weren't committed to one another. They were. They each enjoyed the other's company, found them interesting, and attractive, and considerate, and kind, and supportive. All the things one could hope to have in a relationship. Except family.</p>
      <p>Which was the thing he would always come back to, whenever he thought about them as a couple. That there was something missing, and that what was missing was actually a 'who'. But, sometimes, he did wonder if the missing piece to them was also a 'what'.</p>
      <p>.</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="xcontrast">
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Quantum Entanglement</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Chapter 2</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>"Henry? Can you pick your brother up after school today?"</p>
      <p>JJ was anxious to get out the door, but the newly-formed task force was scheduled to have an end-of-day meeting, and she needed to make arrangements for Michael to get home.</p>
      <p>"Henry!" Calling up the stairs to the closed door of her high-school-junior son's bedroom. "Hen…"</p>
      <p>The door opened and Henry clambered down the stairs.</p>
      <p>"I heard you, you don't need to yell. Yes, I can get him, but I have soccer practice tonight, don't forget."</p>
      <p>She had forgotten. "So, can you just drop him off, and then go?"</p>
      <p>"Yes. But he's on his own for dinner."</p>
      <p>As he had been for four nights of the past week. JJ had begun to wonder whether Mikey would even remember that time when his whole family would gather for dinner and conversation at the end of the day.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Hey, you wanted the job. And don't pretend that you didn't realize how demanding it would be.</em>
      </p>
      <p>She'd headed the New Orleans field office for a little over five years, and had been, for the most part, highly regarded for the work she had done. There had been some pushback initially, as she'd tried to bring some order and efficiency to what had been an abnormally laid back environment, considering it was an office of the FBI. There had even been a bit of not-quite-insubordination aimed at the office's first female leader, but she'd been able to call upon her old liaison skills to bring them in line, while using her profiling skills to ensure that they didn't realize it. But the position had come with both mid-level authority and disproportionate responsibility, and the combination had been taking a toll on her family life.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Which is stupid. We moved here to be closer to Will's family, and I never get to see any of them.</em>
      </p>
      <p>But Will did, and so did the boys, and she'd been willing to trade that off for the boys to have a sense of extended family. Her own biological family had dwindled to include only her mother, who managed to visit a few times a year. And her work family had been left behind in Quantico, without a new one to replace it. It turned out that it was hard for the office superior to break through the barrier of formality to form relationships, and even if it hadn't been, she hadn't actually been welcomed with open arms by some of the agents who reported to her.</p>
      <p>JJ had developed a deeper understanding of and respect for Aaron Hotchner after she'd stepped into her new role.</p>
      <p>
        <em>He managed to allow the rest of us to form a family, even while he kept himself a step removed, as our not-quite-dad.</em>
      </p>
      <p>She realized that Hotch's being in place had allowed Rossi to come in as the wise uncle, and that both of the men had fostered relationships among the rest of them that had become more like family than an assembly of colleagues.</p>
      <p>She also deeply respected the transition Emily Prentiss had made into the unit chief position.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe it was because she'd spent time away from us. She wasn't rising from the ranks, she was coming in fresh….at least to half of us.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Only four of the remaining team members had worked beside Emily in the past. For the other three, she'd been simply a new authority figure.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe that's why it was so hard for me to step up, for those few cases. Even if Linda Barnes hadn't been Linda Barnes, I would still have been the little sister, stepping in while mom was sidelined.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Which was part of the reason why she'd ultimately decided to take the New Orleans job. Here, her past had held no history save what was in her official FBI record. There had been no relationships to consider, none to nurture…..and none to avoid.</p>
      <p>Not that she hadn't made friends in the new setting. But here, outside the denser congregation of FBI brass that existed between Quantico and DC, the bureau chief was 'the' chief, and it hadn't really been possible to find peers with whom she could have an unfiltered relationship. So she'd been polite, professional, and encouraging to her staff at all levels, but she'd always maintained a degree of reserve.</p>
      <p>Her friendships had been formed mostly with the parents of her children, and then, mostly with the mothers, and then, mostly through the few afterschool events that her busy schedule allowed her to attend. Which was to say that, while she had friends, they were few in number, and her schedule kept most of those relationships at a superficial level.</p>
      <p>Altogether, it meant that, despite her own family and their proximity to Will's large, extended one, and despite her leadership role with the FBI….or maybe, in part, because of it…. Jennifer Jareau suffered from loneliness.</p>
      <p>She'd kept in touch with Penelope, of course, who had become her primary source of information on the others, despite no longer being with the FBI. Garcia was soon to become Garcia-Alvez, the nuptials scheduled for a few months down the road, and JJ wondered if she might see any of her old friends at the wedding. Despite Matt Simmons' having left the FBI, she knew that he and his wife kept in good touch with Luke, and even with Tara Lewis.</p>
      <p>She'd also reached out to Emily Prentiss for advice a time or thirty, and had even called Hotch twice. And she'd been welcomed to her office on her very first day by a large bouquet of flowers from David and Krystall Rossi. Rossi still called her every so often, to check in, and he'd sent her notice of his retirement a year after she'd left. He'd even threatened to bring Krystall on vacation to NOLA, but the allure of the Amalfi coast had been too great for him to resist. '<em>Maybe another time'</em>, he'd said.</p>
      <p>The one, huge, hole in her heart was the space she had once held for her best friend. It had been five years since she'd spoken with Reid, partly by circumstance, and partly by choice. It had been such a strange time between them, when she'd left the BAU. She'd made their relationship awkward, by confessing her feelings for him, and despite both of their efforts to move past it, they'd never recovered the ease of being together, nor the precious nurturing that had gotten them each through so many difficult things.</p>
      <p>
        <em>I think I actually started to become lonely while I was still there, because, even though Spence was too, 'we' weren't there.</em>
      </p>
      <p>He'd kept in touch with the boys by phone and video chat, and he'd never failed to mark a birthday or an accomplishment with a card or a gift. He'd even coached Henry through his winning science project on particle physics. But he'd never had more than a word or two of polite conversation with JJ.</p>
      <p>She'd been a little hurt, at the beginning, but realized she had no one to blame but herself. And it wasn't like he was angry with her, or purposely avoiding her. He just wasn't engaging her.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe he's right about that. Maybe it's not helpful to have distance between us if we're just going to keep closing it by staying involved in each other's lives. Maybe we need to fully let go.</em>
      </p>
      <p>And so, she had. Reid came up in her conversations with Garcia from time to time, and even those with Emily. But he was always mentioned in passing, nothing meaty. Nothing worthy of what they'd been to one another.</p>
      <p>She'd gathered that he'd continued to see Max, the woman he'd met not long before the trauma that had caused him to rethink his career. Which was something else she'd heard about. It seemed that, while he'd initially divided his time between the university and the BAU, he'd since been recruited to consult for a joint DHS/FBI international unit, whose primary focus was unclear to her. So he'd moved away from the BAU entirely, and thereby, the status of his life had become largely unknown to her.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Which is how it will stay, I guess. Unless he shows up at the wedding.</em>
      </p>
      <p>The observer part of JJ's brain advised her that thinking about Spence was pretty far from letting him go, and she chided herself to just move on, and live in her new reality.</p>
      <p>
        <em>After all, there's a lot to like. The work is stimulating, the boys are great, and Will is happier than I'd ever seen him be in DC. Maybe I should have given in on coming to NOLA a long time ago.</em>
      </p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="xcontrast">
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Quantum Entanglement</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Chapter 3</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>Reid arrived home to one of the reasons he and Max had not yet decided to permanently share one space. It wasn't that he'd kept his apartment in pristine condition in the past. Far from it. But the mess in his apartment had always been <em>his</em> mess, <em>his</em> things, <em>his</em> books, opened to the page he'd last left them, <em>his</em> chess game-in-progress, left just as he'd left it. From the day he'd moved in, he'd had only a handful of overnight guests.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Fewer than a handful, if I think about it. Just Mom, and Max, really. Others have visited, but no one…..oh, right.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Right. JJ had stayed with him, that first night after he'd lost Maeve. He'd been too stunned, too much in pain, and too far into the depths of grief to argue with her when she'd announced she wasn't leaving him alone. He had barely any memory of her being there, but had long treasured the memory of her having demanded it.</p>
      <p>His mother's stay with him had been his first real taste of having his routine disrupted, thereby driving home the idea that he did have a routine, and had definitely become a man of habits. But her stay had been short-lived, ending in what had been the most tumultuous period of his life. Which, considering his history, was a remarkable thing. Maybe it had been the length of the trauma he'd suffered, maybe the predictable unpredictability of it, but it had left him with a degree of PTSD beyond anything he'd suffered before, or since, and which still plagued him from time to time, though rarely and, so far, never in the presence of Max. Which was another benefit of them spending as much time apart as they did.</p>
      <p>It wasn't so much that Max couldn't tolerate his messiness. Well, maybe it was, a little bit. In the beginning, when he'd finally been comfortable enough to invite her over, he'd found her absently returning a book to the shelf. And then another, and another, and he'd felt himself tensing up, because it had been obvious that she hadn't gleaned his particular filing method, which meant the books were going into all the wrong places, and he'd have to fix everything after she left. He remembered that first time, so very well. He'd thought that maybe he wasn't really made for a relationship, if something so simple could make him question the wisdom of it.</p>
      <p>But she'd been sensitive enough to discern his discomfort and astute enough to realize what might have caused it and she'd insisted he tell her, and so he had.</p>
      <p>"They're shelved alphabetically within each genre."</p>
      <p>Which had led to an evening-long discussion of the various types of literature he enjoyed, and those that she did, and a satisfying discovery that there were substantial areas of overlap. And he'd been able to relax into the idea of relationship once again, and had even taken quite a bit of pleasure in delving into the likes and dislikes of his new girlfriend.</p>
      <p>It had been intriguing, and exciting, and yet artificial at the same time. As in, their interactions took place for the purpose of them getting to know one another, and with the obvious aim of a relationship in mind. Having been a stranger to the dating scene, Reid had found it awkward and just a bit…or more than a bit…uncomfortable, to be expected to expose himself for the purpose of finding out if he was deemed worthy. Not that anyone else might have described 'dating' in the same way, but he couldn't very well ignore what was obvious to him, could he? There was nothing really natural about it.</p>
      <p>As odd as it had been, his relationship with Maeve had become just that…a relationship….over time, and because of a series of conversations that had begun with a specific purpose, which was the treatment of his headaches. Even if that purpose had changed over time, it had done so naturally. Well, as naturally as it could, considering the state of Maeve's life at the time, and their bizarre method of communication.</p>
      <p>While he'd had a few other flirtations in his life, the only other relationship he had to measure things by was the forbidden one. The one with JJ. The one he hadn't even had the audacity to think about as a relationship until the last eight months of it. If he was comparing, which he'd always tried not to do, that one had been the most naturally developed, and the most authentically validated. Having come together over a common mission, they'd both seen each other at their best, and at their worst, and accepted all of it. They'd had their differences, and they'd had that one nearly-catastrophic episode of strife, but they'd overcome it, and so much more, and they'd allowed their families to become deeply intertwined….</p>
      <p>Family. For the vast majority of Reid's life, the word had been defined by only one person. And that person was now a part of his past. As happened nearly every time he thought of Diana, he heaved a deep sigh. She'd had a year of relative lucency at the memory care home, but there had followed a fairly rapid decline in cognition, followed by a physical decline. Diana had lingered longer than Reid had thought he would be able to stand, but she had, finally, found peace.</p>
      <p>Max had been there through most of it, sympathetic and supportive. He'd left the BAU by then, and left behind the relationships he might once have leaned upon. He'd thought about calling Emily, or even JJ. But, by then, he'd largely fallen out of touch, partly on purpose, because that had been the only way he'd been able to tolerate being apart. He'd convinced himself that he'd been simply moving along to the next part of his life, and tried to believe that what had come before had been some sort of extended rite of passage.</p>
      <p>That had been three years ago, and it still sometimes took him by surprise. He'd spent so much of his adult life away from his mother that some part of his brain seemed bound and determined to preserve an image of her still present somewhere, writing or reading or lecturing to herself on some obscure aspect of medieval literature. Max had cheered him up by suggesting that maybe Diana was still doing all of those things, for a much broader audience, and it had brought a smile to his face, to picture her leading a seminar full of angels.</p>
      <p>That she could bring a smile to his face so easily and so often was one of the things Reid loved about Max. That she could hold her own in a conversation about literature, and even enlighten him in one about art, brought a richness to their interactions. She'd even succeeded in expanding his taste in music, or at least he'd found a way to tolerate her taste in it. He didn't find the same degree of intellectual stimulation in conversing with her father and her sisters, but he did find them warm and welcoming. He'd even managed to connect with her nephew and been applauded by the family for helping bring up the young man's college achievement test score.</p>
      <p>But there were some things that weren't so ideal, and he'd just walked into one of them. There were art supplies all over his coffee table, and even a canvas resting atop the café table that held his standing chess game, whose board <em>had been pushed aside</em> to accommodate it, knocking over several pieces in the process. A large easel, holding a work-in-progress, stood before the set of large windows in the room, where Max always insisted the light was 'outstanding'.</p>
      <p>None of it was egregious, and each time he experienced a moment of annoyance, he was able to turn it quickly around. But the fact was that he did experience that moment of annoyance every time he walked in to find his apartment not as he'd left it, because his own personal mess was much preferable to someone else's mess. The little observer in the back of his mind wondered if they would ever get to the point of calling it 'our mess', and that same little observer noted that it might be necessary to first give up the right of individual messes to create a shared mess. Which would mean giving up their separate spaces, and the parts of their lives that they kept separate from one another. And Reid wondered, for the umpteenth time, what was keeping them from doing that.</p>
      <p>He straightened the chess board out and uprighted the fallen pieces, and waited for her to emerge from the bedroom or bathroom. When she hadn't done so for a full two minutes, he called out for her, and went in to see if she was all right, only to find the rest of his apartment empty. Then he noted that her purse wasn't there, nor the light sweater she usually had with her, and he wondered when it was that his profiling skills had begun to fail him.</p>
      <p>Finally, he pulled out his phone to text her, and saw that she'd sent him a message three hours ago, and he'd somehow missed it.</p>
      <p>
        <em>That's what happens when your job is making you crazy.</em>
      </p>
      <p>The message read:</p>
      <p>SO DISAPPOINTED. THE LIGHT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL TODAY, AFTER THE STORM. BUT THAT SHIPMENT FINALLY SHOWED UP, AND I NEED TO INSPECT THE PAINTINGS BEFORE THEY'RE HUNG. SORRY FOR THE MESS! LOVE YOU!</p>
      <p>She'd originally taken the position with the Smithsonian to make art accessible to the disabled, and she did still insist upon that program being part of her area of responsibility. But Max had long since moved up along the hierarchical chain, making much broader use of her extensive knowledge of art and its history.</p>
      <p>Which hadn't lessened her need to create her own, from time to time. Reid had taken notice that she particularly turned to painting when she was in a state of emotional turmoil, whether happy, sad, stressed or excited. And he wondered which it was, at the moment. And then chastised himself for not already knowing.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe I've been too distracted lately. I mean, I've been invited to get involved with something that might be life-changing, and world-changing. Something that might mean there are more of us out there. And this idiot is dismissing it outright! I think I'd prefer it if he wanted to paint it as a mortal danger, because at least he would be acknowledging it. If we ignore it now….who knows when there will be another opportunity? What if we're turning our backs on the future of humankind? The future of 'everything'-kind?!</em>
      </p>
      <p>Then he realized he'd gotten himself distracted once again, and felt guilty for letting his own work intrude on even his thoughts about his relationship, let alone his actions within it.</p>
      <p>Reid shook his head in disgust.</p>
      <p>
        <em>I can't move us away from here. The stakes are too high. I can't let go of this project, no matter how difficult Creedy makes it. So I'll just have to find a way to be present to it, and to Max, at the same time. I don't want to work on saving the world, if it means losing my own.</em>
      </p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="xcontrast">
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>A.N. Apologies for the delay. My news is that, between chapters 3 and 4, I retired! So I hope to have more time to write. Or not.</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <hr/>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Quantum Entanglement</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Chapter 4</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>"Well, you made my day start off right, at least." Tim Leary took a sip of his coffee. "I'm glad you decided to stick around for this."</p>
      <p>Reid smiled. "You sound like you don't expect the rest of the day to go too well."</p>
      <p>Leary gave a wry look. "I have a one-on-one with Creedy at nine. He wants to review the budget for the project."</p>
      <p>Reid nodded knowingly. "You think he'll use it to limit what we can do."</p>
      <p>"I can only hope not. I mean, it's not unusual for the higher ups to do a little micromanaging, but this feels different."</p>
      <p>"How so?"</p>
      <p>Leary threw him a look. "Usually we all have the same goal."</p>
      <p>"The project goal." Reid took a sip of his own coffee. "And you don't think he's on board with the goal."</p>
      <p>Leary shrugged. "You heard him. He thinks it's all some kind of conspiracy. Either that, or he just wants us to reach that conclusion."</p>
      <p>Reid's brow furrowed. "You mean, even if he doesn't believe in the conspiracy, he wants us to?"</p>
      <p>"I don't know. I'm an astrophysicist by training, what do I know about human behavior? I should be asking <em>you</em> to explain him to <em>me</em>."</p>
      <p>Spencer Reid was an acknowledged expert in human behavior. In the moment, that expertise told him not to pass judgment too quickly, and not to feed into an antagonistic relationship within the task force, even if he was in agreement with Leary's concern about Creedy. Reid had too much history interacting with unsubs, and his instincts told him to be wary about showing his hand too early, especially if he wasn't certain what, or whom, he was dealing with. But he had to make some response, and it seemed that the simple truth would be best.</p>
      <p>"I think maybe I should stick to profiling the transmissions, if that's what they really are."</p>
      <p>That got a reaction from Tim. "You don't believe they're transmissions? I thought we agreed they're not just space noise."</p>
      <p>His tone reflecting a wariness that hadn't been there before, prompting Reid to quickly explain himself.</p>
      <p>"No, I'm not saying that they're not transmissions. But I'm also not saying that they are. Not yet. I agree that there's a pattern to them, even if it shifts from time to time. But that might only mean that the signals represent some sort of event that's happening…..that happened….without representing an intelligence behind it."</p>
      <p>Tim shook his head. "It's not anything we've seen before, and we've been analyzing signals for decades. I think it has to be something purposeful."</p>
      <p>Reid wasn't as convinced, but he knew enough not to reach a premature conclusion.</p>
      <p>"I'm happy to look at everything you've got. Maybe there's something in the regularity of it. Maybe even in the lack of regularity."</p>
      <p>"Meaning?"</p>
      <p>"You know. 'I Love Lucy'. It wasn't meant to be a signal to another civilization, so it wouldn't have had a rigid regularity. It wasn't a purposeful transmission, but it was a transmission, nonetheless."</p>
      <p>Tim chuckled. "I've thought about that more than I like to admit. Carl Sagan was right. We might have inadvertently advertised ourselves to the universe via a situation comedy."</p>
      <p>"Well, if he was really right, we might have done it with a show of unity that was entirely misleading."</p>
      <p>"The 1936 Olympics, you mean. The first world-wide transmission of signal."</p>
      <p>"And a show of unity and obedience toward a malevolent dictator."</p>
      <p>"Yeah. Right. So, you'll have to look at the signals for evidence of intelligence….and then <em>real </em>intelligence." Smiling wryly.</p>
      <p>Reid joined him. "Something like that."</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Weeks passed quickly as Reid delved more and more deeply into what was known about the signals. Often, he was more overcome by the enormous amount of information that remained unknown, keeping alive a myriad of possibilities and a nearly incomprehensible degree of wonder. He found it increasingly difficult to turn his mind off at the end of the day.</p>
      <p>"Penny." Max plopped down next to him on the sofa, pulling him back from the laptop that was opened on the coffee table. He quickly minimized the screen before succumbing to her invitation.</p>
      <p>"I think you're going to have to increase your offer." Lifting his arm to make room for her.</p>
      <p>She snuggled in. "Oooh, heavy thoughts, then? All right….a quarter."</p>
      <p>Reid smiled. <em>If only.</em> But this project was top secret, and Max's being an art historian was not enough to grant her clearance.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Although, if it's real….if we ever actually get to communicate….maybe it's art that will serve as our translator.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"I'm sorry. Really. But we knew, when I agreed to consult with DHS, that there were likely to be more things I couldn't talk about than when I was with the FBI. Not that there was all that much I could share there, either."</p>
      <p>She sighed. "I remember the day we met, and you told me a little bit about what you did. And I remember thinking that I didn't really want to know anything more. But that was when it was about your job. Now, I wish I could know, because it's about you."</p>
      <p>He pulled back enough to be able to look at her directly. "Have I been that different?"</p>
      <p>She shrugged him off. "Just a little preoccupied, I guess. I'm not complaining, just noticing. Enough to ask if you're okay."</p>
      <p>It was one of the things he hadn't anticipated about having a relationship with a civilian. Before Max, he'd rarely had to really filter what he'd shared in his personal conversations.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Well, except for Mom. I was careful not to share case information with her.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Except for that time she'd become entangled in the case of a deranged father inadvertently threatening the life of his own daughter while pursuing a knightly quest. And later, that time Diana had helped him to think about the childless mother who'd kidnapped a young boy.</p>
      <p>If he really thought about it, he'd even involved Maeve in a case or two, ostensibly consulting her for her expertise. Even though that expertise had proven valuable, he knew that the real reason he'd brought her into it was because it made him feel supported.</p>
      <p>
        <em>So, what's the difference here?</em>
      </p>
      <p>The main difference was that Max's area of expertise was so far afield from the subject of possible communication with extraterrestrial intelligence that he couldn't find a way to stretch the envelope to include her, even if he wanted to.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Which I do. Right?</em>
      </p>
      <p>Right. He did, he truly did. Not being able to talk about his work, which took up more than half of his waking life, was difficult for him. He knew there were plenty of other government operatives who were in the same boat, and he wondered if it affected their relationships the same way he felt it affecting his.</p>
      <p>Back at the beginning, back when they were just getting to know one another, there had been seemingly endless things to talk about. Who they were, their histories, their likes and dislikes, their hopes and aspirations, in a limitless variety of things. Everything had been new, and the increasing depth of discovery had kept it exciting. They'd maintained that momentum through the changes in their work positions, each change bringing a new aspect, and a new dimension, to both their individual lives, and to the one they shared together.</p>
      <p>Max's decision to take the position with the Smithsonian had been a no-brainer. It was something she'd hoped for, and she'd accepted it with glad excitement. On the other hand, Reid's decision to leave the BAU had been difficult, and made even more so by the fact that his would be the fifth position on the team to turn over within the same year. Garcia had left almost immediately after they'd taken care of the Chameleon, and Matt Simmons had followed shortly after, no longer able to justify the dangers of his job with five children at home. Emily had held out until the pull of her fiancé, and some beautiful land in the Rockies, had been too much for her to resist. And, eventually, David Rossi had seen fit to retire a second time from the BAU. Each of those had been an emotional blow, but none so much as the departure of the woman who'd been his best friend.</p>
      <p>She'd warned him, after a fashion. Told him she'd been offered the position as the lead in the New Orleans office. She'd kind of laughed it off, and he'd been happy to go along with that sentiment. But it had niggled at the back of his mind, that things he'd long taken for granted could change.</p>
      <p>
        <em>I don't know why. I should have learned that lesson a thousand times over by now. I've lost people before. I almost lost 'me', when I was in prison. I definitely lost my life as I'd known it, back then.</em>
      </p>
      <p>But from nearly the first time they'd met, he'd always been able to count on the love and support of his best friend. In fact, it was that love and support that had sustained him through the darkest period of his life. So the idea of losing it, of losing her, had thrown him. Until something else had thrown him even more.</p>
      <p>In the process of trying to outwit a gunman who was threatening both of their lives, and those of several innocents, JJ had admitted her love for him. Not that she loved him, but that she had long been <em>in love</em> with him. In the moment, he'd been stunned, not so much at the fact of it, because it had always been there, just below the surface, but at her boldness in putting it into words. She'd tried to retract it, of course, and he'd let her, because he simply hadn't known how to be around her with it lying between them. Even so, his memory couldn't be retracted, and he'd felt a need to distance himself from her.</p>
      <p>But then…</p>
      <p>Then, there had been yet another life-and-death situation….her own…. and she'd said it to him again. That time, he'd been too frightened of losing her for good, and he'd promised to accept her words. Promised to accept the facts of the situation…all of them. That she loved him, and she loved Will, and their boys, and their life together. That she didn't want the knowledge of her love for him to get in the way of him finding a new love.</p>
      <p>He'd been too flooded with gratitude for her life to deny her anything, so he'd agreed, despite having no idea how to move into the future from there. Eventually, he'd assumed the major responsibility for resolving it, and taken himself to therapy. Which, one day, had sent him into the park, where he'd met Max. He'd been taken by her right away, even if he sometimes wondered if he'd still been following the instructions of both JJ and his therapist by entering into a new life.</p>
      <p>Whatever, or whoever, had brought him there, mattered much less than the fact that he'd stumbled upon someone who genuinely liked him…Spencer Reid, the person, not the FBI agent…..and who made him happy. He'd entered into their relationship with far less caution than he could remember ever employing in the past, and he'd found an entirely new aspect to his life.</p>
      <p>Which hadn't completely addressed the situation between himself and his best friend. He wished he could forget those expressions of romantic love between them, and remember only the deep affection and respect they'd known before. Not that he would deny the frisson of romance. Indeed, it had always been there, from the day he met her, though he doubted it had been reciprocated until much later. But life and circumstances had intervened, and the maturity of adulthood had precluded them even entertaining acting upon it. So, despite his best effort to ignore it, it had indeed lain between them, separating them in a way that they hadn't been separated for well over a decade.</p>
      <p>The awkwardness of it had been considerably defused, and sometimes even forgotten, after Max entered his life. He'd been enchanted, and busy, and fulfilled, and just happy, and none of it had been dependent upon his relationship with JJ. So, when JJ had announced her decision to take the New Orleans position, he'd experienced a paradoxical combination of wistfulness, and relief, and resignation. He'd often wondered if she'd felt the same, and he would never know, because they hadn't talked about it. For that matter, they'd talked about very little in the past five years. They'd each moved on with their lives, and something deep within him told Reid that it was better that way. He could let any remaining embers burn themselves out, and avoid a rekindling of any sort, if only he kept his distance. Which wasn't easy to do while fulfilling his role as godfather to her boys, but he loved them every bit as much as he'd loved her, and he wasn't willing to let them go, too. So he'd done his best to build a moat around his interactions with Henry and Michael, and especially with Henry, who remembered him so much better, and had built a deep bond with him.</p>
      <p>That would all be tested in a few weeks' time.</p>
      <p>He'd stayed in loose touch with the other members of his old BAU team, reaching out occasionally, but more often being reached out to. Emily had consulted him a few times from Denver, and he'd had a couple of calls from Tara, who had moved into the unit chief position. Rossi was a regular, seemingly serving the 'wise uncle' role to all of his prior teammates, checking into the status of their lives more deeply than he did the status of their careers. Reid still spoke occasionally with Derek Morgan, but those calls had become less frequent with the arrival of a second child into the Morgan household.</p>
      <p>The one person who'd kept in contact with him most faithfully had been Penelope Garcia who, though no longer with the FBI, still seemed to live much of her life on the phone. She'd been his 'gossipy' connection to the others, since most of his other calls were work-related. Through Garcia, he'd kept in touch with Luke Alvez, who would become her husband in a few weeks' time.</p>
      <p>No one had ever successfully denied Penelope Garcia anything she'd truly wanted, and attendance at her wedding would be no exception. No matter what other obligations they might have, all of her past BAU teammates were expected to celebrate the occasion with her, and she had pestered even the most recalcitrant into agreeing. So Reid would attend, with or without Max, who had a potentially unmovable conflict, which she was still attempting to move. Despite the anticipated awkwardness of seeing JJ again, he was looking forward to the occasion, and the gift of seeing all of his old friends together in one place, for a rare, joyful event.</p>
      <p>#####</p>
      <p>If not for his 187 IQ points, his reverie might have taken long enough to prompt Max to ask again about his preoccupation. Instead, he had time to simply acknowledge her concern.</p>
      <p>"I'm fine. Just a lot to think through. But I promise I won't let this project take over my life."</p>
      <p>She chuckled. "No, just your thoughts."</p>
      <p>He smiled down at her. "Not for the rest of the night. You have my undivided attention. What do you want to do with it?"</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>The next few weeks went by quickly, as Reid delved ever more deeply into the history of the radio telescope, the transmissions, the various theories surrounding them, and the personalities of the players involved. It had been at least a few years since he'd done much profiling, but that was essentially what he was doing now, about the scientists claiming the discovery, Robert Creedy, his superiors at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and even Tim Leary. He felt a bit guilty about the last one, because it was the equivalent of profiling a team member, which had long been taboo for the BAU. But the question of intrigue had been raised, and he felt that he had to consider it.</p>
      <p>
        <em>But how can I know if Tim is pushing an agenda, or Creedy, or the people feeding information into either one of them? Maybe I should forget the intrigue, and just stick to trying to profile the transmissions.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Which was a bizarre task on its own. Without knowing how genuine they were, without knowing that they were purposeful, how could he find meaning in them? He was being asked to add to the opinion on whether they represented language, and if so, the tone of that language. Others might be able to decipher the specifics of the message…..if there even was a message….but he was being asked to determine if it was to be viewed as friendly or threatening.</p>
      <p>Thinking about that did two things. It made him dizzy, because it was entirely circular. And it thrust him into a deep rumination on the nature of life, and being human, and being non-human, and good, and bad, and intent and result, and a thousand other things. All of which was at once intellectually stimulating, challenging and frustrating.</p>
      <p>He'd begun to long for a compelling diversion, just to release his mind from the endless cycle of analysis in which it had become engaged. His not-quite-prayers were answered by a suggestion from Max.</p>
      <p>"We should think about a wedding gift."</p>
      <p>"We? Does that mean you can go?"</p>
      <p>She grinned. "It's looking promising. Diane said she might be available to look at the collection for me."</p>
      <p>That made him happy. Having Max at his side would be a major ego boost for the event. They might have been his old friends, and that might have made it easier than usual, but Spencer Reid was still not very adept at small talk. Mostly because he didn't see the point of it.</p>
      <p>"So, do you have an idea?" Hoping she did.</p>
      <p>"Well, they're your friends, so I thought maybe you would."</p>
      <p>He shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, it's Garcia."</p>
      <p>Max had been around the team long enough to realize what he meant. Their former tech analyst had taste that was unique, to say the least.</p>
      <p>"Well, I don't know either. They've probably got everything they need already. So it would have to be something that was completely gifty."</p>
      <p>"Gifty?"</p>
      <p>She gave him a playful shove. "You know what I mean. Something they don't need, and maybe don't even want, but would love."</p>
      <p>"Don't need, don't want, but would love…hmmmm…wait! I know!"</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="xcontrast">
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Quantum Entanglement</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Chapter 5</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>"Do you have your toothbrush?"</p>
      <p>"Mo-om."</p>
      <p>Henry tried unsuccessfully not to sound like he was rolling his eyes, mostly because he was.</p>
      <p>"I have my toothbrush, my suit, my tie, my socks, and shoes. And, before you ask, yes, I have my underwear."</p>
      <p>JJ smiled at her older son, now taller than she. His face still had a trace of baby fat, and he was still awaiting his beard, much to his growing chagrin. If his hair hadn't retained its nearly white blond sheen, he might have reminded her of someone she'd once known and loved.</p>
      <p>
        <em>And am about to see again, for the first time in five years.</em>
      </p>
      <p>She'd been so busy these past few months that she'd barely had time to think about it. Except for when she was awake in the wee hours of the morning, or when she managed to get out for a run. Or when she went into Mikey's room and saw the dinosaur model he'd made from the kit his Uncle Spence had sent him. Or when Henry mentioned wanting to talk to Reid about how to select a college next year.</p>
      <p>The first time Henry had brough it up, it had caught her completely off guard, and thrust her back sixteen years, into a hospital room containing only the three of them…herself, the newborn Henry, and a physically and emotionally exhausted Spencer Reid. She'd jokingly told him she expected him to help Henry get into Yale, and he'd just as jokingly dismissed it, calling Yale his 'safety school'.</p>
      <p>
        <em>And now, here you are, helping him with college, after all.</em>
      </p>
      <p>After all. After everything that had come before. Maybe in spite of it.</p>
      <p>Five years ago, <em>after</em> the words had escaped her mouth regardless of her sworn intention, she'd had to spend time thinking about them. They'd come out in a moment of mortal peril, and as much as they'd surprised Reid, they'd also surprised her. It wasn't until after it had all unfolded that she'd had the time to really examine what she'd said.</p>
      <p>She'd told him she loved him, and that she always had. Which had been an emotional way of saying that her love had been longstanding but, really, she wondered, when had it started? Had she already loved him, back in that hospital room? Had she been <em>in</em> love with him? Had that been the beginning of it? Had she found a way to keep them bonded because she was in love with him? Or had she simply felt sorry for him, and the situation with his parents? Had she simply responded to her knowledge that he had no one else in the world? Had she fallen in love with him after that?</p>
      <p>He was no longer in that situation, at least. He had Max. They'd become a couple five years ago and, to her knowledge….and she was quite certain Penelope would have filled her in on any news to the contrary…they were still together. She hoped they were happy. She hoped, more than anything, that he had a child, because she knew it had been the wish of his heart. He'd even shared it with her, a time or two.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Back when we used to share. When he used to tell me things he would never tell the others, and when I would do the same with him. When we used to be able to examine our lives, and the experiences we shared, with one another. Back before I blew it all.</em>
      </p>
      <p>If ever she might have been granted the wish to rewind a segment of time, she would have rewound those few minutes. She would have wished to stop the truth from spilling from her lips. She would have found something else to use to deceive their captor, something clever that might have served as a signal to Spence, rather than a trigger. But wishes weren't real, and what was between them, was. She could only hope that time had served to heal, and not to further separate. And she would find out the day after tomorrow.</p>
      <p>"Okay, I'll stop mothering you, but don't blame me if you go to get ready and realize you've forgotten your deodorant."</p>
      <p>"My…..be right back!"</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Reid came into the kitchen sifting through the mail he'd just retrieved, marveling once again at the waste represented in each piece. He could understand the use of paper for a worthwhile cause, like a book, but using it for advertising, or soliciting, or political promotion, was anathema to him. His current assignment had made him even more acutely aware of the fact that he lived on a planet, whose inhabitants might have been reached out to by the inhabitants of another planet, and he wondered what kind of impression those possible extraterrestrials might form of the earth creatures who cared so little for the resources that sustained them. And then his thought process was disrupted when he reached the last envelope.</p>
      <p>"It came!"</p>
      <p>Max looked up from the salad she was making. "Whew! That took forever, but at least it got here just in time."</p>
      <p>"It was only eleven days but, yes, it seemed like forever." Smiling at her, and her typical exaggeration.</p>
      <p>She threw a cherry tomato in his direction.</p>
      <p>"Don't make fun of me! What were we going to give to Penelope and Luke if it hadn't arrived?"</p>
      <p>He shrugged. "An I.O.U.?"</p>
      <p>"Ha! Can you just imagine giving Penelope Garcia an I.O.U. as a wedding gift?!"</p>
      <p>"Well, considering all we <em>are </em>giving her is a piece of paper…yes."</p>
      <p>Pulling two plates down from the cabinet and setting the table.</p>
      <p>"Ah, but it's a very important piece of paper." Walking the salad over. "Would you slice some bread, please?"</p>
      <p>He did, and the two sat down to their lunch.</p>
      <p>"So, did you find out?"</p>
      <p>"About tomorrow?" Max sighed. "Yes. Diane's father-in-law is in the ICU, so she needs to be there for her husband, and can't go in my place. But Nina was okay with us postponing for a day, so as long as I get to New York by 6 PM, we're good."</p>
      <p>"So…..?" Squinting his question at her. <em>What does that mean for the wedding?</em></p>
      <p>"So, I can stay with you until about four, then I have to head to the airport."</p>
      <p>"I can bring you…."</p>
      <p>Max cut him off, waving her fork.</p>
      <p>"No, no…..I've already scheduled an uber. This is the first time in a long time that you'll be together with your friends, and I don't want you to miss it."</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>"Who has a bachelorette party the night before her wedding?"</p>
      <p>Emily Prentiss finished pouring the champagne, and handed glasses off to the others.</p>
      <p>"Oh, I don't know, maybe someone whose friends have dispersed to the far corners of the country, and couldn't come back until then," answered the bride-to-be.</p>
      <p>JJ threw an arm around her dear friend and squeezed. "New Orleans is hardly a far corner, Pen. It's just that it's been crazy busy these days." Feeling guilty, even as she gave her excuse.</p>
      <p>
        <em>I'm always complaining that I have no new friends, and I don't even nurture the old ones.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"And technically, Denver isn't even a corner," added Emily, with a smile. "But you're right, we should have found the time. Tell you what, let's pick a date and we'll all go for a girls' weekend. How does Vegas sound?"</p>
      <p>"I'm in!" Tara Lewis had barely waited to hear the destination. "I don't care where we go, as long as there are no serial killers."</p>
      <p>The reaction came in stereo, from the two field directors: "There are serial killers everywhere."</p>
      <p>JJ and Emily looked at each other, stretched out their hands, and linked pinkies at their simultaneous words. The oldest of the gathering shook her head in mock disbelief.</p>
      <p>"Oh, my God, you're making pinky promises about serial killers! Thank God Dave is retired!"</p>
      <p>"Does that mean you don't want to go to Vegas with us, Krystall?" Emily kept the joke going.</p>
      <p>The most recent…..and final, as he always said….Mrs. David Rossi demurred. "You were all good to invite me here tonight, but I don't think I could quite keep up with you in Vegas any more. Although," she recalled, "it was the place I became Mrs. Rossi the first time."</p>
      <p>JJ swallowed her sip of champagne. "Honestly, I'm not sure I can keep up with the younger me anymore, either."</p>
      <p>Garcia heard something in her good friend's voice. "You okay, Jayje?"</p>
      <p>Embarrassed that she had inadvertently diverted attention from the star of the gathering, JJ waved off her concern.</p>
      <p>"I'm fine. Just not as young and carefree as I used to be."</p>
      <p>Emily had a sense that she knew what JJ was referencing. "You're feeling it, aren't you? The weight of responsibility."</p>
      <p>It was Tara who answered. "I can definitely understand it, if you are. I'm only a unit chief, and there are days that I don't think will ever end. I can't imagine what it's like for you guys, who have a whole field office to look after."</p>
      <p>With so much support in the room, how could she not admit it? So JJ did.</p>
      <p>"I feel so ungrateful sometimes, you know? I mean, I was honored to have the confidence of the FBI, that it would entrust me with so much responsibility. And it's intellectually challenging, and interesting, but…..I don't know. I guess it's like they say….it's lonely at the top."</p>
      <p>Garcia moved over and gave her a quick hug. "For a minute, I was afraid you were going to say you missed being in the field, and I, for one, most definitely do not. Miss you being in the field, I mean. I don't think I'll ever forget those phone calls telling me that one of you was down." Clutching her chest at the mere memory. "And you, my dear, brave JJ! You were almost killed! No, no, no, I won't hear of it!"</p>
      <p>The object of her affection smiled. "Don't worry, Pen, I'm pretty well installed behind a desk these days."</p>
      <p>"Well, that makes me feel better. But I'm sorry you're feeling lonely, Jayje. If it's any consolation, I'm nowhere near the top, and I miss you all every day!"</p>
      <p>"I miss you too, Penelope, and I'm so glad we're all together, and that we get to celebrate tomorrow! Let's focus on that, okay?"</p>
      <p>JJ had never been quite comfortable with being the center of attention, and even less, the object of pity.</p>
      <p>Emily both sympathized, and recognized the need to change the subject. It was Garcia's bachelorette, after all.</p>
      <p>"JJ's right, we're here to celebrate you, Penelope. And I want to celebrate all of us being together again! I've missed you, ladies!"</p>
      <p>They clinked glasses and downed what remained in their own, each handing their empty glass off to a waiting Krystall for a refill.</p>
      <p>"I know I wasn't with you for very long before you all went in different directions, but I've always felt grateful that you included me in your girls' nights. I've missed them, too."</p>
      <p>JJ smiled. "You and Dave are like home to us, Krystall. And, Pen, I hope it was okay with you. I mean, Emily and I talked about inviting a few more people, but we kind of felt like it would be more fun to just have our little group."</p>
      <p>Emily added, "We did invite Savannah, but they can't get here until tomorrow, so…"</p>
      <p>Garcia waved off the concern. "I love that it's just us! And I want you to promise me that this isn't the last time we'll be having a girls' night!"</p>
      <p>Tara was always practical. "Well, considering that two of us live a plane ride away… Three, if you count Savannah."</p>
      <p>"Pshaw! What's a plane ride?" said JJ. Not having taken one to visit her friends for several years.</p>
      <p>"These days, a plane ride is pretty cramped..," remarked Emily, "...compared with our roomy old jet. Poor old jet."</p>
      <p>It was a little easier to laugh about it these days, but JJ could only wish it hadn't become a thing of FBI legend. She threw up her hands. "What can I tell you?"</p>
      <p>Emily took pity and moved their discussion ahead to the guest list.</p>
      <p>"So, is everyone coming? All the old gang?"</p>
      <p>"OMG, yes!" enthused Garcia. Then, correcting herself. "Most of them. Blake and her husband are in Africa, so they sent a lovely handmade basket, but they can't come. Kate is in Arizona visiting Meg. And we never heard back from Hotch."</p>
      <p>Brows around the room went up.</p>
      <p>"He didn't respond?" JJ was concerned. "That's not like him. Should we be worried?"</p>
      <p>Directly her question to Emily. The former unit chief was pretty connected within the FBI network. Emily frowned.</p>
      <p>"Not that I've heard. I mean, Scratch is gone, so what danger could he be in?"</p>
      <p>Her former teammates laughed, and JJ responded for all of them.</p>
      <p>"Yeah, right. It's not like he couldn't have a thousand other serial killers out to get him or anything."</p>
      <p>Emily conceded the point. "And I heard that he's moved back to the prosecuter's office, so who knows who else he's pissed off." Thinking a moment. "Maybe he's just buried in a case. You know how intense he could be. He probably doesn't look at anything else when he's in the middle of a trial."</p>
      <p>Garcia agreed. "That's what Luke said. But I wish I could have all of my babies together again!"</p>
      <p>Tara consoled her. "Well, at least you'll have most of us."</p>
      <p>"Yeah," said JJ, "and it's great that Morgan and Savannah can make it for the main event."</p>
      <p>Studying Garcia for any hint of regret, well aware of the long history of affection between her two former teammates, and the fact that it had gone beyond affection on Garcia's part. But the tech analyst seemed past those feelings tonight.</p>
      <p>"OMG, I told him to move heaven and earth if he had to, but I wanted him at my wedding! And do you know what he told me?"</p>
      <p>Emily laughed. "I'm pretty sure it must have been 'Yes, ma'am'. Or, wait, don't tell me….he said, 'You got it, Baby Girl!"</p>
      <p>The others chuckled as well.</p>
      <p>Penelope sniffed. "Actually, he said, 'Nothing could keep me away.' Except Savannah's schedule almost did."</p>
      <p>JJ wondered. "Are they bringing Hank?"</p>
      <p>"No, Derek's mom is watching him. Something about school," said Garcia. Then, remembering to ask. "Speaking of which, where is my darling Henry? Did your mom come down to stay with him?"</p>
      <p>JJ cleared her throat. "Ahem. No, I was informed that a sixteen-year-old is old enough to spend a night watching movies in a hotel room by himself, so that's where he is. But your godson is very excited about tomorrow." Then, getting to a subject she'd been wanting to broach. "Speaking of which…..is Spence coming?"</p>
      <p>The other present and former FBI agents exchanged a look. JJ and Reid had long shared the closest relationship among them. Why didn't she know?</p>
      <p>Garcia found her voice. "Yes, of course. He wasn't sure Max could make it, but he called earlier to say that she can. JJ, are you saying you haven't spoken with him? Doesn't he talk to the boys?"</p>
      <p>"Uh, sure. Yeah, no, he and I haven't connected in a while, but he's called Henry and Michael pretty regularly. I just wondered…."</p>
      <p>
        <em>I wondered everything. I wondered if Spence would be there. I wondered if he was still with Max. I wondered if she would be there. I wondered what happened to my relationship with my best friend. I wondered why I put my foot in it. I wondered why I essentially ran away. I wondered if anything would ever change. I wondered if it should.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"…I just wondered. Good, I'm glad. Henry will be happy to see him."</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
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        <em>
          <strong>A.N. The muse has admittedly gone dormant for weeks at a time lately, so this story is coming out very slowly. I am debating whether to hold back until I've got a few chapters to post in rapid succession, to keep momentum up, or just push them out as they are done. You can let me know which works better for you. Hoping for better in the new year, along with everything else getting better. And it will. Just hang in there. STAY HOME as much as you can, employ physical distance when you can't. Wear a mask whenever you are in the presence of someone who does not live with you. That includes wearing a mask indoors when visiting, and even when coming 'home' for the holidays to a home where you don't live full time. We are in a war with a microbe, and we need to employ wartime sensibilities. That means sacrificing now, to assure a future. Be smart, and be safe.</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <hr/>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Quantum Entanglement</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Chapter 6</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>Emily Prentiss studied her environment, as FBI agents were wont to do. But, this time, she wasn't taking in details of a crime scene. This time, she was evaluating possibilities. Her own.</p>
      <p>JJ correctly read the process as she approached across the not-quite-tastefully decorated garden.</p>
      <p>"Are you and Andy planning….?"</p>
      <p>Emily was quick to respond. "Oh, no! Well, no, not right now. Not yet."</p>
      <p>That brought out a smile in her friend. "But maybe? Have you talked about it?"</p>
      <p>The brunette agent waddled her head from side to side. "Not about 'it', per se. But we've talked about sharing a future together. I think…you know, he was married once before."</p>
      <p>"And you think he's a little gun shy?"</p>
      <p>"Maybe. Our situation is a little different from Penelope's. There are kids involved. He wants to be careful."</p>
      <p>JJ nodded knowingly….and maybe a little regretfully. "Kids do play a big role in making the decision."</p>
      <p>Emily picked up on something in JJ's tone. Something barely audible, but….there.</p>
      <p>"Everything okay with you and Will?"</p>
      <p>"Us? Yeah, we're fine. You know, we're both pretty busy, so we don't get that much time together, but we're fine."</p>
      <p>Emily returned a slow nod, aware that JJ hadn't seemed all that surprised at the question. Equally aware that Will hadn't accompanied his wife to the wedding.</p>
      <p>
        <em>But at least she didn't tell me that her marriage has become a dumpster fire. Maybe the bloom does fade from the rose after a while, but it's still a rose.</em>
      </p>
      <p>JJ changed the subject. "So, were you thinking about whether you'd like this kind of venue? I mean, should the day come…" Smiling, as she humored Emily's hesitance to commit.</p>
      <p>"Hoo, boy, I don't know. I think it might be a little…..ornate? For me, anyway."</p>
      <p>There were ribbons and bows, and flowers, and more ribbons and bows<em>…..everywhere</em>.</p>
      <p>JJ laughed. "For me, too, sister. But you know Penelope."</p>
      <p>"Well, since Rossi picked out all of the decorations for your wedding…."</p>
      <p>"Ahem. You meant to say that Rossi's decorators picked out all of the decorations for my wedding. And my mom picked the dress."</p>
      <p>Emily grinned. "All you had to supply was the groom. I think I could handle that."</p>
      <p>"Yeah, well….," said JJ, "….speaking of…..have you seen Luke?"</p>
      <p>"Not yet. Why?"</p>
      <p>"Because Miss Penelope is convinced that something will go wrong, and the incredibly long list of things she keeps reciting begins with Luke not showing up."</p>
      <p>"Why would he not show up?"</p>
      <p>"He wouldn't not show up. But you know Garcia. Worrying is the thing she does best. After hacking, that is."</p>
      <p>Emily smiled at a thousand memories. "So, is she okay?"</p>
      <p>"She'll be fine. We just need to find…..oh, there he is. He's talking to….Morgan! He's talking to Morgan!"</p>
      <p>Neither of the women had seen their old teammate in person since just before the fateful collision that had cost them the life of an agent, and seen Emily kidnapped by the serial killer Peter Lewis. Morgan had been back to DC a few times, but not until after his female colleagues had left the area. They made their way over to him now.</p>
      <p>As they neared, Emily called ahead. "Why Derek Morgan, as I live and breathe!"</p>
      <p>"Well, if it isn't the Princess and Blondie! Come over here, you two." His open arms inviting their embrace, which they happily gave. "How are you doing? How's Denver? And the Big Easy?"</p>
      <p>Before either could reply, Luke Alvez interjected. "Hey, ladies. Did you see my girl in there?"</p>
      <p>JJ answered for them. "Not only did I see her, but she sent me in search of you. Something about a 'first look' or something like that. But I think she really just wants to make sure you're here."</p>
      <p>He chuckled. "Where else would I be? But that's okay, I know my Penelope. I'll go and take my official first look at my bride. See you guys later!"</p>
      <p>Once Luke was out of earshot, Morgan queried the two women. "Tell me now, is he a good guy? Worthy of my Baby Girl?"</p>
      <p>"Uh, Derek?" said JJ, "You might need to start calling her something besides Baby Girl."</p>
      <p>He laughed. "You're not wrong. Old habits, I guess." A gleeful look came into his eyes. "I think that habit is going to get easier to break in a few months, though. There's about to be a new 'Baby Girl' in Derek Morgan's life."</p>
      <p>"What?!" Came out in stereo.</p>
      <p>Morgan couldn't restrain the grin that took up the entire width of his face. "Yep. We're pregnant again. And it's a girl!"</p>
      <p>"Oh, my God. Derek Morgan with a real little baby girl," said JJ as she hugged her congratulations.</p>
      <p>Emily followed with her own embrace. "She'll be the luckiest little girl in the world." Releasing him, she looked around while adding, "Speaking of…..where's Savannah?"</p>
      <p>Morgan pointed with his chin. "She's over there talking to Pretty Boy and his lady."</p>
      <p>Two sets of eyes turned in the direction indicated. Emily grinned in delight. JJ's response was more tempered.</p>
      <p>She'd been looking forward to it, and dreading it, at the same time. Sometimes it was better to just let the status quo remain the status quo, to completely let go of something, no matter how precious, than to become attached to a false hope of regaining it. And still, that which had made it precious, remained.</p>
      <p>And so she'd been both anxious and excited about seeing Reid. Excited, because she could finally learn how he'd fared in the past five years, she could know if he was happy, and fulfilled, still confident of her ability to read his mood at a glance. And anxious, because it had been a full five years since they'd exchanged anything beyond a couple of niceties on the phone, whenever he'd called to speak with the boys.</p>
      <p>
        <em>And at least three years since Henry got his own phone. I think I've only spoken to Spence on Mikey's birthday, since then.</em>
      </p>
      <p>But 'first contact', as she'd begun to think of it, would have to wait. Because, before she and Emily could navigate the crowd in the direction of Reid, Max and Savannah, they were summoned back to the bride's room. It was time for the wedding of Penelope Garcia and Luke Alvez.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Emily would observe the ceremony from her seat among the attendees, together with Andrew Mendoza. She'd been summoned to use her command skills in keeping Garcia calm. But the long friendship between Penelope and JJ would be honored by JJ serving as the matron of honor. Once satisfied that Garcia wouldn't erupt from her dress in a fit of anxiety, Emily gave her former team members each an affectionate kiss, and left to find her seat.</p>
      <p>As she moved up the aisle, she realized that the space reserved for her was enveloped by two people she loved dearly. Mendoza, on one side, and the owner of a most familiar, unruly mop on the other. She excused her way past a few people, making friendly eye contact with Max, whose last name escaped her, and then purposely colliding with the bony knees of one Spencer Reid.</p>
      <p>"Oof! Oh, sorry."</p>
      <p>Reid had already begun apologizing for the existence of said bony knees, when his eyes completed the journey upwards to see the face of their victim.</p>
      <p>"Emily!"</p>
      <p>She grinned. "Hello, Spencer." Reaching down to hug him, even as he rose to do the same. They threw each other off balance for a second, but regained their equilibrium with the help of their significant others.</p>
      <p>"How are you?" She made no effort to hide the up and down scan her eyes were making.</p>
      <p>"I'm fine. Andy says you're doing well, too. You look great!"</p>
      <p>She returned his grin. "I can say the same for you." Then, remembering her manners, she turned and bent to greet Max. "It's so good to see you again."</p>
      <p>Max smiled back at her. "Same. I'm so glad there was a happy reason for Spencer to see all of his old friends again."</p>
      <p>"Me too." Emily continued to her seat, giving Andy a peck on the cheek before resuming her conversation with Reid.</p>
      <p>"Are you happy with your consulting work?"</p>
      <p>He hesitated just a beat before responding, telling her more than his words would.</p>
      <p>"It's interesting."</p>
      <p>She pushed him. "And?"</p>
      <p>Reid turned to look at her full on.</p>
      <p>"And, it's interesting."</p>
      <p>She raised an eyebrow. "What are you working on?"</p>
      <p>He looked around before replying. "I can't really talk about it here."</p>
      <p>"Top secret, huh?"</p>
      <p>"Classified. Sort of."</p>
      <p>"Sort of? I have top secret clearance, you know."</p>
      <p>Reid considered that. Most of his good friends in the FBI had one level or another of top secret clearance. But he wasn't sure they had DHS level top secret clearance, which meant there might be some limits on what he could share.</p>
      <p>
        <em>But at least I can share more than I get to share with Max.</em>
      </p>
      <p>He addressed Emily once again. "We can talk about it later. Privately."</p>
      <p>"But Andy…oh." Finally realizing that one among them was a civilian.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Now I'm glad I hooked up within the FBI. No secrets.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"Okay. Well, so tell me about the rest of your life." Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, "What's going on with you and Max? Are you going to make it official?"</p>
      <p>Reid couldn't help but smile. This was vintage Emily Prentiss, cutting right to the chase, no lead-up at all. And he hadn't realized how much he'd missed it. He leaned closer to whisper his response.</p>
      <p>"Max and I are fine, and we're happy with things as they are."</p>
      <p>Without actually saying what 'as they are' meant. Which wasn't lost on Emily. But any further inquiry would have to wait, because there was movement at the front of the garden. Luke, accompanied by his best man, had taken his position. The smile on Luke's face, and the light in his eyes, invited the crowd to turn and look at the source of them. Instead of Penelope, they saw a small girl, who Emily took to be Luke's niece, ready for her duties as flower girl.</p>
      <p>Reid's eyes caught someone else as well.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Henry!</em>
      </p>
      <p>He was seated in the back row, by himself, and Reid suddenly realized that his godson would be alone for the ceremony, since he and JJ were the only LaMontagnes who had made the trip and Henry didn't know most of the people in attendance. So, after making a short consultation with Max, Reid slipped out of the row and made his way down the aisle.</p>
      <p>"Henry!"</p>
      <p>"Hi, Uncle Spence." Smiling broadly.</p>
      <p>They hadn't been together in person in years, and much had changed in the younger of the two. Henry was his father's son, and wouldn't reach the height of his godfather. But he had grown at least a foot since Reid had last seen him, and his voice was several tones deeper.</p>
      <p>The two exchanged a brief hug, which was another, regrettable change. As was the absence of the exclamation point at the end of Henry's sentences.</p>
      <p>
        <em>I missed the baby when he became a little boy, and was sad when it was time to leave the 'little' behind. But now…..now, I think we've left the 'boy' behind, too.</em>
      </p>
      <p>He wondered if JJ had felt the same way, or if seeing Henry every day had made the change gradual enough to dull the pain of it.</p>
      <p>"You look great! How was your trip?"</p>
      <p>A teenage shrug. "It was fine. The hotel's pretty cool."</p>
      <p>"Glad to hear it. Do you know how long you're staying?"</p>
      <p>Wondering if he should try to free up part of his schedule to spend some man-to-man time with Henry.</p>
      <p>"We've got three more days after this. Mom thought it would be good for me to see some of the museums and monuments again, now that I'm older."</p>
      <p>Reid nodded, torn between offering to take Henry himself, and not wanting to intrude on whatever JJ might have planned. Torn, also, about how he felt about the three of them going together.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Maybe if Max comes, too.</em>
      </p>
      <p>But Max was leaving for New York this afternoon, so she couldn't be a factor in his decision-making.</p>
      <p>He'd just launched into a rapid-fire mental evaluation of his options when it was interrupted by Henry nudging his arm.</p>
      <p>"Uncle Spence…..is that? I mean, doesn't it look like…?"</p>
      <p>Reid followed Henry's gaze in the direction of the arbor. The presider had just stepped into the center, indicating that the ceremony was about to begin. As the string quartet began to play, Reid had to squint to get a better view. He'd expected that Rossi might have been asked to preside, but it was clear that the thick hair atop this man's head was dark.</p>
      <p>When his eyes finally gained focus, Reid saw what Henry had seen.</p>
      <p>"That's Hotch!"</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
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        <em>
          <strong>Quantum Entanglement</strong>
        </em>
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      <p>
        <em>
          <strong>Chapter 7</strong>
        </em>
      </p>
      <p>"I now pronounce you man and wife. Luke, you may kiss your bride. And Penelope, you may kiss your husband."</p>
      <p>The members of his erstwhile BAU team recognized the all-too-rarely-seen grin on the face of their former unit chief, as he concluded the wedding ceremony. Penelope and Luke both did as instructed, to a round of applause from the assembly. Then, happily, they walked down the aisle.</p>
      <p>Or rather, Luke walked. Penelope pranced.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>If JJ had been apprehensive about seeing Reid again, he'd been no less apprehensive about seeing her. He had, after all, managed to verbally sidestep her for the bulk of the five years since they'd last worked together, even if he couldn't even explain to himself why he'd done so. Not that he hadn't tried to understand it, but he'd never been able to distance himself enough from his emotions to analyze his actions.</p>
      <p>
        <em>It's just easier, I think. I mean, we both knew that we could never be romantically involved, no matter how we might have felt, and if she hadn't said anything…. And she had Will, and I have Max… and she's happy, she told me so. And so am I.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Which was as far as his thoughts ever seemed to be willing to take him, each time JJ came to mind, and still didn't quite explain why he'd been avoiding her.</p>
      <p><em>It's not like I'd been pining after her, all that time. I never really let myself entertain the idea of us being in that kind of relationship at all</em>.</p>
      <p>Which hadn't meant he'd not had a crush, and a hefty one at that. But he'd been too immature, when he'd first met her. Too enamored of her confidence, and her kindness, and her beauty, and too accustomed to being the butt of the joke, and not the object of anyone's affection. So he'd just enjoyed the little frisson of excitement that had come whenever he'd had her attention, and not really noticed as that frisson settled into something more constant, and assured, and warm, and deep, and full of affection. He'd just enjoyed it.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Do I wish we'd left it at that? Do I wish she'd never told me?</em>
      </p>
      <p>He'd probably asked himself that question a thousand times, and still wasn't sure of the answer. If she had never told him, there wouldn't have been the awkwardness that came afterward, the not knowing how to be with one another.</p>
      <p>The not knowing how to be, period.</p>
      <p>The thing was, he'd come to define himself, in part, by his friendship with her, by the parameters of it. The closeness, the support, the sharing of themselves, and even the sharing of her sons…..and the fact that they each went home to a life that was separate, and not shared. The separateness of them became part of the defining characteristic of their relationship. And then, in the heat of a life-or-death dilemma, she'd broken through that separateness, told him it might not have been inevitable. Told him there might have been another reality for each of them, and both together, if only they'd made other choices. If only they'd been more honest with one another.</p>
      <p>
        <em>But neither of us was willing to chance it, back then. Neither of us was willing to put our feelings, and ourselves, out there. Why? Did we not trust each other enough?</em>
      </p>
      <p>He had never gotten much beyond that particular question, whenever he'd ruminated on the relationship that had been such a precious part of his life. All he knew was that he hoped it had been something other, maybe a confluence of circumstances in each of their lives, that had kept them from becoming more than they had been.</p>
      <p>
        <em>But, what does that even mean? What is 'more'? Does every relationship have to end up in a marriage? In sex? Even if it began with a crush? Mom would have said I knew nothing about romance, if I didn't realize the actual meaning of the word. Of course, she would only be talking about the medieval literature meaning of it. The courtliness, the sense of honor, and loyalty. Chivalry. But…well, maybe she would have been right. Maybe that's the kind of romance I had with JJ. The kind that never reaches consummation. Never really needs it….not that it would have been unwelcome.</em>
      </p>
      <p>But, even before he'd met Max, he'd never been able to quite picture the latter. Not with JJ. Not even with Maeve, really. He had a libido, of course. And it was happily satisfied with Max. But he'd always been more a seeker of something else, something intellectual, and soulful. Something spiritual.</p>
      <p>
        <em>I had that with Maeve. For a long time, I had it with JJ. And I have it with Max. It's just…..</em>
      </p>
      <p>Just. It was<em> just</em> that his relationship with Max needed something more.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Like any relationship. They're all meant to be creative, to produce something. I actually brought Maeve into a case, partly so that we could create a profile together. And I definitely did that a thousand times with JJ. With Max…..with Max, I can't share my work. So what we create has to be something else. For such a long time, I think, we've both wanted that 'what' to be a 'who'. But….</em>
      </p>
      <p>But, to date, that 'who' had eluded them, and somehow, despite all of their satisfaction with it, it had kept their relationship from feeling complete.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Like it hasn't accomplished its mission.</em>
      </p>
      <p>And yet, it also didn't feel like a mistake, or like it was time to move on. Reid couldn't quite conceive of what 'moving on' might mean, anyway. It wasn't like he'd had a succession of relationships to compare this one with. And, though a bit more experienced, neither had Max.</p>
      <p>Someone without his hefty IQ might have taken a much longer time to revisit that particular set of ruminations, but Reid still retained most of his 187 points, despite his age, and it had taken only a minute or two. The crowd had begun to dissemble, some gathering in small groups, and some moving over toward the reception area. Henry was still at Reid's side, waving to his mother.</p>
      <p>"Okay, I think she sees us, Uncle Spence."</p>
      <p><em>Great</em>. "Good. I think Max sees us, too. I'm glad you'll finally get to meet her."</p>
      <p>"Uh, actually…." Henry was trying to make something out. "…I think Mom is trying to tell us to go up there. It looks like they're all talking with Uncle Aaron."</p>
      <p>Reid wasn't quite out of his reverie. It took him a second to decode 'Uncle Aaron'.</p>
      <p><em>Oh, right….Hotch!</em> "Well, I guess we'd better join them, then."</p>
      <p>
        <em>No time like the present.</em>
      </p>
      <hr/>
      <p>"Oh, my God, is that Henry?" Emily Prentiss was having trouble reconciling the fact of the young man before her, contrasted with the image her mind held of his five-years-younger self.</p>
      <p>"Hi, Aunt Emily." Henry's smile was shy.</p>
      <p>Not yet making eye contact with Reid, JJ reached an arm around her son and began introductions. "Savannah, I don't remember if you've ever met my son, Henry. Henry, this is Dr. Hayes, Uncle Derek's wife."</p>
      <p>The emergency medicine physician shook hands with the youth. "It's Savannah. I'm happy to meet you, Henry."</p>
      <p>"Ah, my man Henry!" Morgan came up behind his wife. "Did your mom ever tell you that I used to call her Blondie, and you, little Blondie?"</p>
      <p>Savannah correctly read the look on Henry's face. "Not that he would ever think of doing it now. Right, Derek?"</p>
      <p>Emily laughed. <em>Some things never change. Blessedly.</em></p>
      <p>Reid had been hanging back, standing next to Max, and patiently awaiting his turn. It came via a familiar voice.</p>
      <p>"Is that Spencer Reid I see standing over there?"</p>
      <p>Now it was Reid's turn for the shy smile. Even after all these years.</p>
      <p>He leaned in toward his former unit chief and longtime mentor and friend.</p>
      <p>"Hi, Hotch. It's so good to see you."</p>
      <p>The two men shook hands and exchanged a not-too-awkward man-hug. When they released, Reid finished his thought.</p>
      <p>"Even if it was a surprise."</p>
      <p>Emily agreed. "That's what I was just telling him…I couldn't believe Garcia kept It from me…from all of us, really."</p>
      <p>Morgan laughed. "Are you saying Baby….er, Penelope can't keep a secret?"</p>
      <p>Reid spoke up. "Well, she managed to keep the fact that she was leaving the BAU a secret, until she had to tell us. So I guess I'm not surprised that she kept you a secret, Hotch. Regardless, I'm so glad to see you!"</p>
      <p>Max smiled at the obvious delight of her boyfriend at the reunion with his old friend. He'd told her much about Aaron Hotchner.</p>
      <p>Pointedly, she cleared her throat, reminding Reid to make the introductions.</p>
      <p>"Oh, sorry! Hotch, this is Max. Max, this is Aaron Hotchner, my….my friend."</p>
      <p>The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, and then Emily brought the conversation back to where it had left off.</p>
      <p>"Hotch was just about to tell us what he's been up to."</p>
      <p>"Yeah," said Morgan, "and why he's been incommunicado all this time."</p>
      <p>Which was largely true. Although it had been deemed safe for Hotch and his son to leave witness protection once the threat from Peter Lewis had been obviated, they hadn't seemed to do so, and their former unit chief had not been particularly responsive to attempts at outreach from his former team members.</p>
      <p>"Well," said Reid, falling back into a familiar role, "to state the obvious, he hasn't been entirely incommunicado, or he wouldn't be here."</p>
      <p>Emily laughed. "You're right. So, Hotch, what kind of pull does Garcia have that we don't?"</p>
      <p>Standing next to her son, JJ had a unique insight. "It was Jack, wasn't it?"</p>
      <p>Hotch threw an appreciative look her way, and nodded, ever so slightly.</p>
      <p>"He wasn't ready. I'd had to separate him from everyone and everything he'd known and loved, to go into hiding. We'd had to change our names, I had to find a job. He became that dreaded new kid in school. It was a pretty tough adjustment, but we'd finally found some equilibrium. I just couldn't do it to him again, so soon afterward. So I decided to let him finish high school first, and then he could decide."</p>
      <p>The mention of Jack aroused Henry's interest. While not close, the two had met and played together a number of times in their younger years.</p>
      <p>"Is Jack here?"</p>
      <p>Hotch nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, you'll find him wherever the food is."</p>
      <p>The others chuckled, while Henry turned to his mother. "Can I…"</p>
      <p>"Of course! I'll catch up with you over there."</p>
      <p>Once the teen had left, Hotch addressed JJ. "He's a young man now, isn't he?"</p>
      <p>She smiled. "I don't know when it happened, but it did. He's a good kid, too. He hasn't left Mikey behind, even though they're not that close in age."</p>
      <p>"Where is Michael, by the way? And Will?"</p>
      <p>"Back home, in New Orleans. It's just Henry and myself this trip."</p>
      <p>Reid was eager to know. "Henry's a senior this year, so I'm guessing Jack would be well into college by now. Is he?"</p>
      <p>Hotch waggled his hand. "Just started his sophomore year. He lost some time with the move, and the adjustment, so he's a year behind what he would otherwise have been. But he's doing well."</p>
      <p>Emily wondered. "What's his major? Pre-law, to follow in his father's footsteps?"</p>
      <p>"Footsteps, maybe. Law, no. He's majoring in Homeland Security at ASU."</p>
      <p>Savannah was surprised. "Wow….that's a major now? How the world has changed."</p>
      <p>Reid was familiar. "I've taught a few classes in it for George Washington University."</p>
      <p>Without thinking, JJ admonished, "Don't tell Henry. He's been asking all sorts of questions about criminal justice as a possible major." It was the first thing she'd said directly to Reid so far.</p>
      <p>He returned his first comment to her, curious, and wondering if he was being given direction in his role as Henry's godfather. "You don't want him to do what his parents do?"</p>
      <p>Emily hadn't yet picked up on the tension. "Yeah, JJ, it's the family business, after all. Why wouldn't you want him in it?"</p>
      <p>Savannah's own profession had taught her to read body language and the words between the lines. She saw them now, in JJ.</p>
      <p>"You all may not realize it, because you're in it…..but what you all do is pretty dangerous. And it's not easy on the ones you leave at home."</p>
      <p>For the first time, Max spoke up. "Amen to that!"</p>
      <p>The others looked at each of the women, and then at each other. Reid's eyes went back to Max, and rested there. JJ responded for all of them.</p>
      <p>"You're right. I guess being in a situation yourself is so consuming that it's easier than worrying about someone you love being in the same kind of situation. I just think…..well, it's even worse when you're the mom."</p>
      <p>Hotch added, "Or the dad."</p>
      <p>The conversation had inadvertently wandered into a place of melancholy, and Morgan wasn't about to allow that at his Baby Girl's wedding.</p>
      <p>"I remember what my appetite was like at Jack and Henry's ages. We'd better get over there, if we want to have any food."</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>Wordlessly, they'd each known to linger behind the others, as they moved over toward the tented reception area. Max ran ahead to explain her early departure to the bride and groom, while Reid and JJ followed slowly in her wake.</p>
      <p>"So…" JJ started.</p>
      <p>"So."</p>
      <p>"You look great. And so does Max. I'm sorry she has to leave so soon."</p>
      <p>"Couldn't be helped. It's a work thing, and there was no one to cover."</p>
      <p>There was silence for a few steps. Then, "Do you ever travel with her?"</p>
      <p>
        <em>Why aren't you going with her today?</em>
      </p>
      <p>"Sometimes, but not often. My schedule doesn't always allow it."</p>
      <p>"Oh, that's right! Henry said you'd started a new job. Can I ask what it is?"</p>
      <p>Wondering if he'd pick up on the irony of her having had to learn it from her son, since her former best friend didn't seem to be speaking to her.</p>
      <p>"It's not really a new job, just a new project. I'm still with the FBI, on loan to DHS."</p>
      <p>"Oh." Noticing that he still hadn't told her anything. <em>Will you never speak to me again?</em> "Can I ask what it is, or does DHS mean 'top secret'?"</p>
      <p>"It's complicated. And I'm not sure….." Thinking what, or whether, to tell her. "….I'm not sure where it's going."</p>
      <p>"Look, Spence, if you don't want to tell me, just say so."</p>
      <p>He heard the irritation in her tone. And more than that, he heard the hurt feelings. And in spite of everything, in spite of five years of distance, in spite of his resolve that it was the only way, in spite of everything…..he couldn't bring himself to hurt her. Not then, not now.</p>
      <p><em>Probably not ever.</em> Sighing internally.</p>
      <p>He stopped his forward motion, catching her by the elbow.</p>
      <p>"It's not that I don't want to tell you. In fact, I could probably use some advice on it, because I'm not sure quite what's happening with the different personalities. But it really is complicated, and it would take too long, and…."</p>
      <p>"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry to have pushed you. It's really none of my business, anyway."</p>
      <p>Still the tone of hurt feelings. And he knew, full well, that they had nothing to do with the current conversation. Which made him change the subject.</p>
      <p>"How are things with you?"</p>
      <p>Later, JJ would chastise herself for over-analyzing. But in the moment, she began to wonder about his phrasing. Not 'how are you' but 'how are things with you'. Keeping just an extra bit of distance between them.</p>
      <p>"Okay, I guess. The boys are doing great. You saw Henry, and Mikey is happy and busy. He's got a lot of friends, just like his big brother."</p>
      <p>Reid smiled to hear how socially adjusted his godsons were. "And Will? Is he happy to be back in New Orleans?"</p>
      <p>"Hah, is he happy?! He loves his job, and he's got a lot of his old friends still there, and a virtual army of cousins. He's <em>so</em> happy that I felt a little bad about having kept him away from it for so long."</p>
      <p>Without a second's hesitation, he defended her to herself. "You were doing very important work here, JJ. Will saw that, didn't he?"</p>
      <p>JJ felt just a little shimmer of the warmth that used to exist between them.</p>
      <p>"Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply that he complained about being here." Even if he had. "He was happy enough with Metro PD. He's just happier in New Orleans."</p>
      <p>Reid nodded, offering a small smile. "And you? Are you happier there?"</p>
      <p>She took a moment to think about how best to answer him.</p>
      <p>"I'm happy because all of my boys are happy. As for work," she shrugged, "I don't know, it's just different being chief of a field office. There's not as much direct team work, and a <em>ton</em> more paperwork."</p>
      <p>Seeing Henry waving to them from the reception tent, Reid nudged JJ by the elbow, and started heading them in that direction.</p>
      <p>"How are the people? Are they good to work with?"</p>
      <p>"They are, for the most part. You know, there are the usual personality conflicts, but most of them are able to focus on the job at hand."</p>
      <p>Reid had a hard time imagining anyone having a personality conflict with JJ, but then, he was biased. What had inserted itself between them had nothing to do with interpersonal conflict. Still, despite her assurance, his profiling sense activated, and he responded to something he'd heard in her tone.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Loneliness.</em>
      </p>
      <p>"Head of office is a completely different kind of position from unit chief, isn't it? You're that much more removed from the direct action."</p>
      <p>She nodded, walking beside him. "It does make it a little harder to develop the kinds of relationships we had on the team. I mean, Hotch and Emily….they were both just a little bit removed whenever we were in DC, because they had the administrative load to carry. But when we were away….."</p>
      <p>"They were right in it with us, yes." He threw her a sideways glance. "So, you don't get into the field much?"</p>
      <p>"Much? Try 'not at all'. It's probably my fault, though, because…"</p>
      <p>"Hey, you two, hurry up!" Morgan called from just outside the tent. "They need you at the front, Ms. Pennsylvania Petite!"</p>
      <p>JJ threw an apologetic glance toward her companion and hurried ahead to join the rest of the wedding party, while Reid found Max seated at a table with Rossi and Krystall, Emily and her fiancé, Savannah, Henry, Hotch and Jack. Morgan followed right behind him.</p>
      <p>"We thought you two got lost out there, Pretty Boy."</p>
      <p>"Just catching up." He cast an inquiring glance toward Max. "Did you….."</p>
      <p>"Yes. I've already said my goodbyes to Penelope and Luke, so I can slip out in a few minutes." She looked around the table. "Sorry, you guys. As I told you, it couldn't be helped."</p>
      <p>Emily assured her. "We understand. But it just means that we have to find another time to get together. Maybe you and Spencer could visit us in Denver."</p>
      <p>Savannah added on. "Or us, in Chicago."</p>
      <p>"That's right, Pretty Boy. You and your lady here can make a little tour of the country. You can stop in Chicago, and Denver, and Phoenix." Then, spying Henry, Morgan added, "And New Orleans."</p>
      <p>Max smiled. "That would be amazing, wouldn't it, Spencer?"</p>
      <p>He smiled obligingly. "It would. Maybe, one day. When the FBI sees fit to give me some time off."</p>
      <p>Morgan picked up on it, much more serious now. "Does that mean you're involved in something, Kid?"</p>
      <p>Savannah patted her husband's back, looking around at the others. "Derek may not have his old position in the FBI, but he'll never stop being an agent at heart. Right, Derek?"</p>
      <p>"Just asking after the Kid, dear." Coming across as affectionate, and not sarcastic. "So, Kid…what's the case?"</p>
      <p>Emily anticipated Reid's dilemma and interjected, "C'mon guys. Do we need to talk shop at a wedding?"</p>
      <p>Hotch, the presider, had been chatting quietly with Jack and Henry, but now joined into the general conversation at the table, making meaningful eye contact with both Emily and Reid.</p>
      <p>"Did someone say something about a wedding?"</p>
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